DSCE Literacy Forum

Literacies of Power: What Americans Are not Allowed to Know

Authors:
Freire (foreword) and Macedo (author)

Book Description
In Boston, twelve-year-old student David Spritzler faced disciplinary action from his school for his vocal questioning of the Pledge of Allegiance, which celebrates liberty and justice for all. The boy's concerns were not taken by the teacher as an opportunity to engage the class in a discussion of the country's problems, such as homelessness, which could be seen just outside on Boston's streets. Across the river at prestigious MIT, a linguist student told her colleague that she could not take time to read literature outside of theoretical linguistics if she wanted to be a top scholar in her field. Even essays that linked linguistics to its historical and social context fell outside her diligent pursuit of theory.

Quote:
"MOST AMERICANS WOULD CRINGE at the thought that they have repeatedly fallen victim to big lies told by their government..."

Table of content:
1.Literacy for Stupidification: The Pedagogy of Big Lies
The instrumentalist Approach to Literacy
The Barbarism of Specialization, or the Specialization of Barbarism
The Illiteracy of Literacy of the Gulf War

2. Our Common Culture: A Poisonous Pedagogy
Western Heritage Versus Multiculturalism
What All Americans Need to Know

3. Our Uncommon Culture: The Politics of Race, Class, Gender, and Language

4. English Only: The Tongue-Tying of America
The Role of Language in the Education of Linguistic-Minority Students
A Democratic and Liberatory Education for Linguistic-Minority Students

5. Educational Reform: Literacy and Poverty Pimps
Educational Reforms That Deform
The Choiceless Choice
The Method: Fetish of Reform

6. Charitable Racism: Imposing Democracy Undemocratically
The Naturalization of Mass Deception
Liberals' Dance of Hypocrisy



Remember Hirsch "Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know" (1987)?

posted by Sabine Reljic @ 4:20 PM